Aggressive Ocellaris clown - acclimation box?

[rishma]

I added a fork tail fanged blend to my Redsea reefer 170 after quarantine and my female clown keeps harassing it. I did not use an acclimation box as I didn’t anticipate the aggression. Tank currently houses a fathead anthias and pair of clowns.

I caught the female clown and put her In timeout for 4 days in the sump-Fuge and reintroduced her. She immediately began harassing the blenny again and has been for several days.

I was able to catch the clown again and she is in an acclimation box. The blenny eats well and was bold when the female clown was gone.

My question- should I leave the clown in the box a while? How long? Should I swap the clown and blenny and put the blenny in the box?

Thoughts and advice are appreciated.

 

[Flippers4pups]

The only thing that comes to mind is trying to move your rock around.

 

[rishma]

Yes, thanks. I have done that in other tanks. Unfortunately I really only have two rocks so restacking territory is not an option.

 

[PDR]

I would leave the clown in the acclimation box for 5-7 days, then rerelease and watch carefully.

You might want to consider adding the male to the acclimation box as well. Can we get a picture of your tank?

 

[rishma]

It’s no glamour shot but here is one I just took.

 

[rishma]

I could try to catch the male, they have been a pair for 10 years. He isn’t bothering anyone, are you thinking they should just be together?

 

[PDR]

Now that I see the setup, I don't think you need to catch him. I think your problem may be due to the lack of rockwork. Clownfish can claim a fairly large territory in that size tank, and the lack of rockwork can definitely cause some aggression issues with new additions.

 

[rishma]

Perhaps. There is more rock mass front to back than is visible in the picture with hiding spots. The blenny takes shelter in the back right, but the clown may have claimed with whole tank. I could add a couple rocks but not sure that would change anything. I may give that a try. My previous tank was 6 inches wider with one more rock in the middle. I didn’t have agression issues with the clown in that tank.

 

[rishma]

Well, I put the clown in the box for a week, then switched the clown out and out the blenny in the box for a week. I released the blenny yesterday and the clown immediately began harassing the blenny again. I put the clown in my sump before going to bed.

I am at a loss. I would like to add more fish but I’m afraid mama clown will never allow it.

 

[Jesterrace]

Established clowns are well known to be buttheads. I think one of the biggest lies told in the hobby is that Occ clowns are peaceful. They are all semi-aggressive/territorial to some degree once established.

 

[rishma]

Established clowns are well known to be buttheads. I think one of the biggest lies told in the hobby is that Occ clowns are peaceful. They are all semi-aggressive/territorial to some degree once established.

My son pointed out I’ve had these clowns over 10 yrs without a problem. The only change was downsizing the tank a little. Now she acts like a damsel.